to be a little more specific, Gene Wolfe's sf series, Book of the Long Sun tells of a world called Whorl, which is actually a vast cylindrical space ship, falling into disrepair. Babirousa is a very minor character, a smith's apprentice, who makes a brief appearance in vol. III (of IV). black mechanics is the hobby of the prothonotory Incus (he has buck teeth) -- at this point in their regression a computer technician/programmer is treated as someone who knows black magic.

this is richly detailed stuff. Wolfe uses archaic words (rather than making up some new words) to add authenticity and flavor (he's USn) to his stories.

it's kind of sad that Gene Wolfe works mainly in the sf genre; he is really quite an important writer who has successfully combined modernism with sf. he is a font of interesting words, but I think that another of his series, Book of the New Sun is one of the best things I've read -- I like it more than Lord of the Rings.

p.s. - Bittersweet is another minor character, one of Incus' circle of black mechanics!